Pro Olbrys Warns Mental Lapses Occur In Lopsided Matches

Mental toughness, the so-called inner game, is as important as any physical skill you can bring to a match.

It`s also one of the most difficult skills to master, said Peter Olbrys, the teaching professional at The Polo Club Boca Raton.

Olbrys` discussion of mental tennis was one the primary tips provided by area pros in the past two months.

Other tips included the importance of synchronicity to winning doubles; ways to combat the baseliner; and the importance of maintaining the proper ready position.

Olbrys says one of the best ways to concentrate is by going through some ritual to relax both mind and body.

``During a match, you want to key in on certain things,`` Olbrys said. ``Watch what an experienced player does to concentrate. They adjust their racket strings (while keeping their eyes on the racket head) or they focus on a spot on the ground.``

Players most often fail to stay attuned to the game when they are either too far ahead or far behind in a set, ahead 4-0 or behind 5-1, for example.

``When you`re ahead 5-0,`` Olbrys said, ``you have to continue to play your game. If I`m a serve-and-volley player and I`ve taken that big lead, I might get lazy and start playing baseline. It`s a mental lapse. I have to keep doing what I`d been doing.``

If you`re losing, you probably will want to make an adjustment or two. But, Olbrys says, you have to remember to play percentage tennis.

``Make the other guy earn his points,`` Olbrys said. ``Don`t give anything to him. Make him work for it. (Jimmy) Connors is the best example of that. Look at how he came back at Wimbledon.

``When you`re losing, it`s like they say in that commercial -- don`t let them see you sweat. If you miss a shot, don`t get down on yourself. Keep your head up and go forward.``

All that has been said before, Olbrys admits, but too many players forget it during the heat of a match.

-- Synchronicity is the key to effective court coverage in the doubles game.

But keeping in step with your partner isn`t always easy, particularly if you`re a club-level player.

Tennis pros Fred Fleming and Bob Boutin of the Quail Ridge Country Club have a solution.

Fleming, the tennis director at Quail Ridge in Boynton Beach, and Boutin, the club`s teaching pro, believe the best way to teach doubles partners to move in synch is by keeping them at rope`s length. The rope -- or anything resembling a rope -- is the No. 1 teaching tool of the two pros.

``In doubles, court coverage is so important,`` Fleming said, ``and it`s what you do when you don`t have the ball that is important. When one person moves, the other person should move with him.

``The rope teaches players to do this, because they`ll feel a tug and will have to move. Eventually, you will begin to anticipate the tug and move just before you feel it.``

The on-court anticipation of lateral movement translates well to an actual match, when players must move together without the benefit of any physical reminder.

Many club players, the pros say, make the mistake of watching their partner instead of moving with the flow.

``When you`re both at the net,`` Boutin said, ``when one player goes wide, what does the other do? Does he stand there? Or does he move with you? He shouldn`t stand around like a tree or a statue.

``When the ball is out of your reach, it`s good to know your partner isn`t far behind you.``

``You need to know your back door is covered,`` said Fleming, ``there`s nothing worse than turning around and seeing a big, open space where your partner should have been. That gap has to be closed.``

Boutin and Fleming agree the most common error players make is remaining on their ``side`` for the entire point, claiming their alley was covered. But when a winner is hit down the middle between the partners, both players are at fault.

``When an opponent`s shot into the alley pulls you off the court,`` Fleming said, ``you`re leaving a big gap in the middle. Your partner has to compensate for that hole.

``Always be aware the player on the attack wants to take one person wide and then hit the ball behind them with his next shot.``

``But it your partner can return that shot that is behind you,`` Boutin says, ``he has taken away your opponent`s offense.``

Enough practice, with or without tools like a rope, can improve a player`s tennis reflexes and make anticipation second nature.

``It`s a chess game,`` Fleming said. ``Your opponent wants to attack the middle. You have to protect the middle. Being in position makes your opponent take the tough shot.``

Fleming says the basic rule to remember is the court should always be divided in half. This rule usually puts at least one person in the middle of the court, although, there will be times both players find themselves there.

-- Boca West tennis professional Greg Wheaton says club players must be cautious when they compete against baseline players.

Wheaton calls these strict baseliners ``pushers`` because ``they just keep pushing the ball back across the net at you.``